Electric starting and generating apparatus for internal-combustion engines.



A. HzTIMMERMAN. ELECTRIC STARTING AND GENERATING APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATIIJN FILED NOV- IO. I913.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOR W/T/VESSES TIIVIMERMAN ELECTRIC STARTING AND GENERATING APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10. I9I3.

1 1 98,680. Patented Sept. 19, 191

2 suns- 2.

/TIVESSE Mum, LL

' TTOHEy UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR H. TIMMERMAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO WAGNER ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MIS- SOURI.

ELECTRIC STARTING AND GENERATING APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted S t- 19 1916 Application filed November 10, 1913. Serial No. 800,067.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. TIMMER- MAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Electric Starting and Generating Apparatus for Internail-Combustion Engines, of which the following is such a full. clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to electric starting and generating apparatus for internal combustion engines, and is articularly applicable to automobile use or starting the engine and furnishing current to the lights and batteries of the'vehicle. The application of dynamos and motors to this service has presented a number of difficulties on account of the limited space available, the desirability of adding only the minimum weight to the vehicle and mechanical difiiculties arising from the peculiar operating (-lun'acteristics of the machines to be connected.

It is the object of this invention to so utilize and combine a motor and a generator for the purpose mentioned as to provide an apparatus which will be simple and compact and require very little gearing, and to provide means whereby the gearing will not be driven when not required to transmit power and to thus reduce the inertia of moving parts of the starting and generat ng apparatus to a minimum when the engine is running. These and other objects and advantages will more fully appear from the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing themotor and generator and connecting devices; Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1; and Figs. 3, 4 and. 5 illustrate details of construction, the section shown in Fig. 3 being taken on the line X of Fig. 1. I

The electric motor 1 and the dynamo or generator 2 are integrally mounted, having their frames connected by the bolts 3 and a 'ber 17 in the same direction.

common end plate 4, this end plate providmg bearings for the generator shaft 5 and the motor shaft 6. The generator shaft 5 is permanently connected to the crank shaft 7 of the engine 8 through the shaft 9 and the chain and sprocket wheels on shafts 7 and 9 as shown in Fig. 5. Splined on the generator shaft 5 is a clutch member 10 which may be controlled by the operator through the medium of a controlling rod 11 and the lever 12. The controlling rod 11 may be in tWo parts yieldingly connected by the spring 30. The lever 12 operates the forked lever 13 through the medium of the shaft 14. The lever 13 is provided with rollers 15, these rollers being positioned in grooves in the clutch member 10. The spring 16 attached to one end of the lever 12 tends to hold the clutch member 10 in inoperative position. Rotatively mounted on a sleeve surroundin the generator shaft is a clutch member 17 esigned to cooperate with the clutch member 10. This clutch member 17 is provided with a rim 18, the inner surface of which cooperates with other parts, as shown in Fig. 3 and to be now described, to form a clutch device between the clutch member 17 and the pinion 19 also loosely mounted on the sleeve surrounding the generator shaft.

Attached to the pinion 19 is a disk 20 provided with one or more pockets or recesses for the rollers 21, as shown in Fig. 3. These pockets have inclined faces and the spring driven plungers 22 tend to hold the rollers 21 in such osition that when the pinion 19 and, there ore, the disk 20 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the rollers 21 .will act as wedges to connect the disk with the rim 18 and thus drive the clutch mem- It-will be noted that if the clutch member 18 is caused to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction more rapidly than the disk 20, the rollers 21 will be pushed back toward the deepest portion of the pockets and the rim 18 will, therefore, be automatically disconnected from the disk.

Mounted on a stud 23, carried by the end I plate 4, are connected pinions 24 and 25, the pinion 24 being in mesh with the pinion 19, and the pinion 25 being in mesh with the pinion 26 on the motor shaft. Over the cor necting devices is placed the cover'plate 27 which, with the common end plate t of the motor and generator, forms a housing for the entire gearing. Upon this cover plate the shaft 14 of the lever 12 is mounted.

The operation of the device in service will now be described.

The electric connections being no part of this invention are not shown but it will be understood that a storage battery is carried by the vehicle which furnishes current when desired for driving the motor, and to which current is supplied from the generator when the engine is running.

To start the engine, the operator brings the clutch member 10 into engagement with the clutch member 17 and applies current from the battery to the motor. The motor drives the connected gearing in such direction as to cause the disk 20, forming a part of this gearing, to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction (when viewed from the gear end of the apparatus) and thereby cause the clutch member 17 to be rigidly connected to the disk through the medium of the rollers 21. The clutch member 17 driving the clutch member 10 thereby drives the generator shaft and, through the connections described, also the engine shaft. As soon as the engine starts under its own power, its speed will immediately become greater than during the starting operation and, if the clutch 17 and the clutch 10 remain engaged, the former will be driven at a greater speed than the motor imparts to the disk 20. The disk 20 will, therefore, be automatically disconnected from the clutch member 17. This arrangement avoids the possibility of the engine driving the motor at a dangerous speed even though the operator neglects to release the clutch 10. After the clutch 10 is released and the motor and the battery disconnected, no parts will be rotating idly except the clutch member 10. Thus the inertia. of the moving parts of the apparatus is reduced to a minimum in normal operation. The generator being permanently connected to the engine is always in operation when the engine is running and requires no attention from the operator.

By integrally mounting a motor and a gene 'ator, connecting the generator permanently to the engine and utilizing the connecting devices between the motor shaft and the generator shaft, as shown, a compact, reliable and efficient apparatus is produced requiring minimum attention from the operator and not capable of being so handled as to fail of performing its proper functions.

Having fully described my invention, wliat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent of the United States is:

1. In'an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a motor-shaft, a generator-shaft, connecting devices between the motor-shaft and the generator-shaft, said devices comprising an automatic clutch capable of transmitting power from the motorshaft to the generator-shaft in one direction of rotation only and a clutch under the control of the operator. v

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a motor-shaft, a generator-shaft, connecting devices between the motor-shaft and the generator shaft, said devices comprising an automatic clutch capable of transmitting power from the motorshaft to the generator-shaft in one direction of rotation only, a clutch under the control of theoperator and means normally holding the said last named clutch in its inoperative position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and aflixed my seal in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR H. TIMMERMAN. [1,. s]

Witnesses:

VAL. A. FYNN, C. B. BENNETT. 

